
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap.._.L.. Copyright 5o.,_..^ 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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TKc Flcup dc Lb Poet^. 

• — — a 

OVT Of-A i • * • i 

i • i SILV&R.rLVT& 

^Y- PHILIP VtRRlLL'^IGHtLS- 




NEW YORK. J. SDLWIN TAIT 
ANP SONS, NVMPE-R SIXTY- 
FIVE FIPTH AVENUE. • i • i 



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Copyright, 1896 

J. SELWIN TAIT &. SONS 

New York 

All Kisrhis Rgsfr7ed 



DcMcatton. 

tro jeiia. 
My sou/ through births and deaths pro- 
cessioned on 
The progress way, ambition - spurred ; 
but, ohy 
It glides so swiftly since you brought the 
dawn 
A7td made white -lilied aspirations 
grow I 



Contents. 




(^uatrain0. 


Page. 


The Sunset, . 


. 8 


In California, 


8 


God's Making. 




The Mountains, 


. 9 


The Prairie, 


9 


The Sea, 


. 10 


The Sky, . 


10 


The Indian Summer, . 


. 11 


The Jelly-Fish, . 


11 


Life's Attributes. 




The Mind, 


. 13 


The Heart, 


12 


The Soul, 


. 13 


Love, . . • 


13 


The Flood, 


. 14 


To-Day, .... 


14 


Two Goddesses We Make. 




Satiety, 


. 15 


Moderation, 


15 


Effort, 


. 16 


Poetry, .... 


. 16 



_ Sonnets. 
Eternity. 


Page. 


The Heart, 


18 


The Mind, 


. 19 


The Soul, . 


20 


A Woman, . . • . 


. 21 


Why? .... 


22 


♦The Spirit of Christmas, . 


. 23 


'TwAS Kadiga was Great, . 


. 24 


Sympathy, .... 


25 


The Obelisk in Central Park, 


. 26 


Stone and Soul, <, 


27 


The Sacrifice, 


. 28 


Let There be Light, 


29 


The Sun, . . . . 


. 30 


God's Voice, . . , 


31 



1Ront»eaur, 



A Thousand Years Ago, 

I Would Not Have Thee Change, 

The Velvet of Thy ILvnds, 
The Dawn That's in Thine Eyes, 
fTHY Regal Heart, . 
ft There's No Escape, 
tTHE Night we Traded Rings, 
She Sings of Love, 
ft She Reads His Note, 
ttSuE Answered Yes, 



. 33 

34 
. 35 

37 
. 39 

40 
. 41 

43 
. 45 

47 



CONTENTS. 

ft When Baby Smiles, 
When Jabv Learns to Kiss, 



Pagb. 

. 49 

61 



Miscellaneous. 




I Dreamed of Love, 


. 53 


The Organ's Love, . , 


57 


The Nigiit-Skater, 


. 60 


God's Sun, .... 


61 


Pre-Emption, . 


. 63 


All About It, . 


63 


The Wedding-Ring, . 


. 65 


An Olden Memory Came, 


67 


+tTHE Bachelor Song, 


. 70 


ft The Men Who Live Alone, 


. 71 


ttA Bachelor Toast, 


72 


ft Ten Fingers, 


. 74 


The Glow in the Grate, 


75 


It Shall Not Pass, . 


. 77 


Why Should I Live? 


. 78 


*Au IIevoir, . 


. 80 



» Published in Chips. 
+ Published in Judge. 
+ t Published in Vanity. 



©uatraina* 



XLbc SnnecU 

Old Sol dipped low, and red through 
clouds he burst, 
And all adown a ripple path he trod 
'Till lo ! 'gainst purple lights appeared — 
reversed — 
The golden exclamation point of God ! 



irn California. 

Great lines of mountain peaks against 
the sky 
Like God's eternal, vast chirography 
Appear ; but raised in huge solemnity 

Great Shasta stands an awe-inspiring I. 



(5o&'0 rtbaftliifl. 



THE MOUNTAINS. 



The huge-wrought, sinew-guarded veins 
And arteries that gird the world and 
spread 
The blood of melting snows and myriad 
rains, 
Peak-garnered from the cloudy foun- 
tain head. 



THE PRAIRIE. 

An inland sea of acres broad, and where 
The undulating grassy billows leap 

Exultantly ; and far away, and fair, 
A schooner braves the mystic, West 
ern deep. 



(5oD'0 /JBaftlng. 



THE SEA. 

Thou art the vast and pulsing heart of 
earth, 
Twice daily swelled in adoration of 
The sun and moon, and thy emotion's 
birth 
Betrays Earth's inmost calms and 
storms of love. 



THE SKY. 

The forehead dome of Mother Nature 
thou, 
Whereon her smiles and cloud-black 
frowns are wrought 
Unceasingly ; and Night above thy brow 
Strews diadems inspiring upward 
thought. 



10 



dbc iruDian Summer. 

God's jewel days! His flawless jewel 
days 

That flash in diamond and in ruby rays 
And golden topaz tints, and each and all 
Bright polished on the sharp frost-wheel 
of Fall. 



nbc Jem^ffi6b, 

A dainty — soft, impalpable caress, 
Transparent, tinged with rain-bow 
tints, and this 
Tide-launched to nestle in a Sea- 
Nymph's tress, 
For lo ! 'tis love-sick Neptune's wave- 
lorn kiss. 



Xlfc'0 Bttrlbutee. 

THE MIND. 

God-planted light whose rays, dispelling 
Doubt, 

Illume the paths and days of age and 
youth. 

But oh ! if e'er 'tis dimmed, or — worse 
— put out. 
What piteous wrecks drift far and far 
from Truth. 

THE HEART. 

A garden spot where orchids, like to 
Love, 
By gaudy weeds are always choked for 
room. 
But Gard'ner Conscience, standing all 
above. 
Can always say which dies and which 
shall bloom. 



Xitc's Bttiibutes. 



THE SOUL. 

A hopeful, clinging Plant that every day 
Starts forth afresh, its roots in human 
sod, 
And ever nears its bloss'ming; — 'tis a 
stray 
And wind-blown seed — a very germ of 
God. 

LOVE. 

Not anything of lust and greed and fire, 

But balm of gentleness untold, and 

whole 

Unselfishness, — aye, infinitely higher — 

The Pollen from the blossoms of the 

Soul! 



Jibe jflooD. 

'Tis said that all was wrong ; — mayhap 
'twas fears 
Of worse to come God had, who saw 
the plights ; 
And then He drowned the whole in 
mighty tears — 
For lo ! He wept for forty days and 
nights. 



Return to earth, oh Jesus Christ ! for 
here 
Is vastest need of miracle divine; 
Speak Thou Thy word o'er reeking 
floods of wine 
And turn them back to water, pure and 
clear ! 



14 



SATIETY. 

Faustina gorged, her lips and eyes in- 
flamed, 

Hands goblet after goblet, cloyed with 
wine, 

Until her glutted victim's sense is 
maimed, 

And manly hunger, sotted, falls supine. 

MODERATION. 

Octavia, earthly spark of Heavenly 
fire. 
Dispenses nectar drop by drop, and 
they. 
The thirsty souls that drink — and know 
Desire — 
Climb ever Fountainward the lofty 
way. 



Bffort. 

The Plain of Mediocrity is wide, 

Its fruits grow cheap and green be- 
neath the sun, 

But oh ! bethink, before you there abide. 
The best is always waiting to be won ! 



Like summer-seeking birds that cross 
the skies 
In mile-high flocks, ten thousand 
poems wing 
Athwart the vault of thought ; and up- 
ward flies 
My arrowed pen, and fells — one tiny, 
wounded, trembling thing. 



i« 



Sonneta^ 



Btcrnitis. 



THE HEART. 



Oh ! had I in my hands the power to 
make 

Or choose the great Beyond which 

death will bring; 
To fix the compensation for the sting 
Of Life, what endless heaven would I 

take ? 

Why not a blossom be, and care forsake, 

And love forever, Hke a perfume, fling 

To saddened hearts ; to make the 

children sing 

And laugh ; and oh ! to see a joy awake 

In sunken, weary eyes ; to greet the 

morn 

With dewy smiles ; to glad some desert 
spot 

Where tired feet must tread; to 
ever be 

In matchless lovliness returned — reborn; 
To always live and love — oh were 
this not 

A peaceful, sweet and bright 
Eternity ? 



18 



Etcrtiltc* 



THE MIND. 

Alas, though sweet and much, this is 
not all 
That heavenly joy could be, could I 

but choose; 
For, drifted on the storm, the flowers 
lose 
Their path and may 'mid ugly briars 

fall; 
And, always on the ground, their joy 
must pall. 
No, let me as a bird with morning's 

dews 
Arise each lovely day, and let the 
muse 
Of rapturous song be in my heart to 

call 
Forth joy and life in every woeful breast ; 
Give me the wings, volition's slaves, 
to bear 
Me ever where the summer's day 
may be. 
What though I've knowledge none, 
^twill be a rest 
To lay the burden down ; in God's 
sweet air 
To live and sing for all Eternity. 



19 



Eternity. 



THE SOUL. 

Oh blissful, only Heaven! not birds nor 
flowers 
Art thou, nor selfish joy, nor harps, 

nor gold. 
Thou art of meekness and of love 
untold — 
Unknown, unpracticed in this vale of 
showers, 

And far beyond these darkened lives of 

ours. 
Oh grant to me when death shall next 

unfold 
The binding husks, a heart no longer 

cold, 

And send me back, but not to Summer 

bowers 
Nor happiness, but let me come again 
To earth with soul so great that 

suffering 

Is joy, and here, 'mid deepest misery 
Of struggling little children, women, 
men, 

Let me relieve, partake of everything, 
Until I shall deserve Eternity. 



20 



B 'Moman. 

Maid she was not, as years decree, but, 
deep 
Within, her heart was maiden young, 

for so 
Hearts ever were and are; nor did 
she know 
What pangs and loves a mother's soul 

may keep. 
No wife she was, nor sister, and her sleep 
Ne'er brought a dream of times when, 

long ago, 
She held a daughter's place and 
shared young woe 
With one whose eyes could smile or 

sweetly weep 
In sympathy ; but God, in whispering 
wind, 
Had called her Daughter, and, with 
soul abloom, 
She made herself a Sister to the 
tried 
And spent; nor ceased until for human 
kind 
She lived a Mother's life, and ban- 
ished gloom, 
And lo ! Joy made her Wife before 
she died. 



Why is it that the groansome loads of 
Fate 
Are thrust, not on the shoulders, broad 

and strong, 
Of beings swart and big, who daily 
throng 
The ways of Life, but on the Souls that 

late 
Have staggered, spent and tired, from 
burdens great. 
And now deserve the laurel which 

their long 
And patient suff'ring earned ? It 
seems all wrong ! 
Why cannot Fate attack its size and 

mate ? 
Great God ! — perhaps it does ; perhaps 
the weak. 
Refined and pure, are ablest, after all 
To bear the thorns and briers that 
abound 
In heaven's path ; and when they — 
aching, meek — 
Complete the task some obstacle 
must fall. 
And Souls of Men advance another 
round. 

23 



Zbc Spirit of Cbriatmaa* 

Again the old, young day that gave to 
earth 
The Man embodying the Godliness 
That's in us all ; again the day we 
bless 
For charities and gifts and hours of 

mirth. 
But oh, before the year that gave Him 
birth, 

The world — that heeded sorrow, knew 

distress — 
Possessed its heavenly gift, for noth- 
ing less 
It had in mothers, sisters, wives, whose 

worth 
Is scarce conceded. Yet they labor on, 
Performing miracles whose daily pain 
Puts death to shame. And when I see 

them triced 
On home-made crosses from the dawn 
to dawn. 
Enduring all, and less in sun than 
rain, 
I say, t/ie world is full of Jesus 
Christ! 



88 



'trwaa IkaOlga "Wllas (3rcat. 

Mohammed, with a mind God-budded, 
wise 

While yet but spring-time's leafy 

hours he wore, 
Wed Kadiga, his elder by a score 
Of years, and she, whose clear pro- 
phetic eyes 
Saw deep, gave autumn fruits that he 
might rise ; 
And she alone a mother's anguish 

bore, 
Of all his wives. In later years, while 
sore 
With jealousy, Ayesha, false, with 

sighs, 
Said, "Kadiga was old, 'twas well she 
died," 
But oh his tears rebuked the speech. 
Said he, 
" My only mate she was — my dear- 
est Fate 
That gave me strength and soul, and at 
my side 
She lives ; in everything she guided 
me — 
Oh Kadiga ! 'twas thou wert truly 
great !" 

24 



Sgmpatbij. 

Within a glen, a pine — perhaps too 
proud — 

Stood towering up, and lowly plants 
that crept 

Grew all aloof. One night the hill 
was swept 

By mighty breaths of Jove, and then 
aloud 

Broke forth his cannon-voice and from 
a cloud 
His bolt, air-rending, terrifying, leapt 
To smite the tree, and when the 
heavens wept 
They laved a riven trunk which, shat- 
tered, cowed, 
Shook fearfully. Late came the morn, 
but bright 
It shone, all menace gone. And lo ! 
the vines, • 
The timid, loving vines, approach to 
see 
And climb and kiss the wounds and 
hide from sight 
The lightning-blasted torse, and each 
entwines 
And clings through storm and 
shine in Sympathy. 

25 



Ube Obcli6}\ in Central patft. 

Transplanted thing of days and peoples 

dead 

And gone, how full of mystic dignity 

Thou art ; how hard and long and 

stubbornly 

Thy granite holds thy signs, which not 

the tread 
Of mighty Time stamps out ; — and yet, 
the thread 
Of occult writings once engraved on 

thee 
Is broke, for on that side which knew 
no lee 
From constant — biting winds, a single 

shred 
Of deep-cut things remains. Perhaps 
that side 
Was wrought with idols vain, a crude 
array 
That mocked at heav'n and all the 
truths that be — ; 
And then the sands of Him swirled 
fierce to chide, 
And plane the carvings off — as if 
He'd say, 
'* Thou shall not have another God 
than Me! " 

2G 



stone an& SouL 

(On seeing the picture : "Napoleon before the Sphinx.") 

Behold great Bonaparte as there he 
stands 
And gazes on the Sphinx, whose soli- 
tude 
No vaster than his own can be ; whose 
rude 
Rough-sculptured mystery, half hid in 

sands, 
Lone rival is to his; whose face commands 
A fellowship with all this awesome 

mood 
By ages gone bequeathed ; and there 
its nude 
Hewn paws extends in welcome to his 

hands. 
Oh wondrous pile and mighty, that defies 
The sand-toothed blast, and Time's 
austere attack! 
Thou shalt dissolve and crumble 
down to dust, 
Ere age shall touch that Soul that 
through the skies 
Of great eternity goes gladly back. 
Refined and chaste, to God and 
Love and Trust. 



Ubc Sacrificed. 

Incessant Sea, I hear you pound and 

pound 
Upon your shores of sharp, unyielding 

stones, 
And hear your mighty roar, your 

sobbing moans, 

As wave on wave 'gainst jagged cliff is 

ground 
And churned to foam. Yea, too, I hear 
the sound 
Of anguish-smitten men whose million 

bones 
Are smashed and wrecked on Doubt; 
and naught atones 
For Individual woes — yet all are bound 
To break, as waves, and do their meager 
mite 
For one grand common good. And 
look ! behold ! 

The granite's edge is rounded by the 
teeth 
Of unrelenting seas that day and night 
Grind on ; and Doubt, the grim, the 
dark, the cold. 
By Thought is worn — and under- 
neath is Truth. 



%et Cbere JSe Xlgbt. 

Long distant times apart there came to 
Earth 
A Buddha and a Christ, and these, to 

save 
The peoples groping there, their wis- 
dom gave 
And Uves. And now again a mighty 

dearth 
Of goodness reigns, and greed and kist 
have birth 
Of Ignorance — than which no greater 

knave 
E'er stalked abroad or held as help- 
less slave 
The Soul of Man. Oh God! what is 

the worth 
Of all the creeds which ever fail to 
reach 
The multitudes in darkness ? Make 
the blaze 
Of education scatter wide the night. 
That we may not to senseless sinners 
preach ! 
O Thou, the Great, Almighty One, 
upraise 
Thy voice again and cry, ''Let 
There be LigJit ! ' ' 



Zbc Sun. 

"The Sun has set," we sigh, "and 
oh ! 'tis drear 
And chill, and night comes down," — 

or else we say 
"Behold it rise in purple mists, and 
day- 
Spread far and soft and bright ! " Suns 

do appear 
To rise and set, but oh ! they're shining 
clear 
And always bright— 'tis Earth that 

turns away 
And makes its bleak and then, anon, 
its gay 
Warm hours and days. Thus too, 

though joy be near 
And steadfast m its gleams, we turn 
and turn 
And get its beams where shadows 
gloomed before; 
But all the while, behind, a darkness 
lies 
To blend its edge with light's, and 
though we yearn 
To have on every side our sunshine 
pour, 
It must be best as 'tis, for God is 
wise. 



eot>*6 iDoice. 

Vast space — unsearched, forbidding, full 
of dread 
And mystery — affrighted very light ; 
And cavern glooms were fountain 
heads of night 
And awesomeness ; and e'en the pulsing 

tread 
Of Time came not — a region for the 
dead 
Of universes 'twas, whose dreary 

plight 
Originated misery and blight 
Of hopes, and doubt, but when all 

hope was fled 
Behold ! a sound vibrating through the 
air, 
Exploring inmost cells — which naught 
before 
Had reached — shook atoms down 
with deafening jars, 
And piled them hugely, mass on mass, 
and there. 
When Sound had finished, chaos was 
no more. 
For lo ! God's voice it was, creating 
stars ! 

31 



1RonJ)eauj:. 



B ^bouaauD l^care B90. 

RONDEAU. 

A thousand years ago and thou and I, 
Who loved each other then and knew 
not why, 
Were thrust apart, and in my place 

stood he, 
Who, blind to all of Fate's affinity, 
Possessed thee, caged — a bird denied 
the sky. 

I saw the eons pass, the centuries die. 
And waited ; well I knew the mystic tie 
Of Love would last that bound both 
you and me 

A thousand years ago. 

And now our Union-Time the gods 

supply ; 
'Twas worth the patience, worth the 
while to vie 
With Time, but wer't not yet for 

years to be. 
So much I love that I would wait for 
thee 
As once before I did — with just a sigh — 
A thousand years ago. 
33 



■ff MoulD 1Rot 1bave Zbcc Cbangci 

RONDEAU, 

I would not have thee change a single 

way 
Of thine, howbeit, if or sad or gay 
Or set to mystic strains that bind me 

o'er 
And o'er again — nay, though thy 
power is more 
And subtler far than that of elfin fay. 



And when thine eyes express the gen- 
tlest nay 
To hasteful love, and bid it trembling 
stay 
And quietly approach the sacred 
door — 
I would not have thee change. 



For oh ! dear heart ! it seems as if a ray 
Of brightness rare thou art, and this, 
the day 
You let me come within thy heart to 

pour 
My love, Fm lifted up to almost soar 
With thee and from my inmost soul I 
say, 
I would not have thee change. 



trbe Velvet of ^bs ijanDs* 

RONDEAU. 

The velvet of thy hands, as chaste as 

snow, 
But warm and soft and all with health 

aglow, 
Enchants me quite ; small wonder 

that in bliss 
I hold them both, nor deem it comes 

amiss 
To touch, caress them, tenderly and 

slow. 

No fabrics done in silks, no downs that 

blow 
From wings of bees, as zephyr tossed 
they go 
The orchard blossoms through, com- 
pares with this — 

The velvet of thy hands. 



tibc IDelvct of XLb^ 1ban&5. 



And on the night when first I found 

them so, 
Ethralled I stood and bended down, 
and oh ! 
They throbbed so gently 'neath the 

lingering kiss ; 
And now 'twould plunge me deep in 
woe's abyss 
If thou shouldst say I must not touch 
nor know 

The velvet of thy hands. 



36 



Ubc Dawn crbat's Hn Zbinc iB^ce, 

RONDEAU. 

The dawn that's in thine eyes, ah gently 
bright, 

Breaks forth and floods thy cheeks with 
rosy hght 
And tints of pink, and leaves the 

softest gray 
In dimple nooks and 'neath thy chin 
to play 

In winsomeness that charms my linger- 
ing sight. 

Then Love, like birds that sweetest songs 

indite 
To morning's birth, sings forth with all 
its might 
To plead and plead thou wilt not turn 
away 

The dawn that's in thine eyes. 

37 



For now my soul's awake and wings its 

flight 
To compass what thy sunshine smiles 

invite ; 

And when it seems as if Life's golden 
day 

Had lost, in clouds, its hope-inspiring 
ray, 

I look and see — outsmiling gloom or 
night — 

The dawn that's in thine eyes. 



Zb^ IRcaal Ibeart. 

RONDEAU. 

Thy regal heart, which I have dared to 
woo, 

Sways such a gentle power and subtly 
new, 

That I, republican, am wrought to fall 

On bended knee, and there to offer all 

My liberties to monarchy — in you. 

Strange scepter is it that can thus undo 

My precepts hard and furnish me, in lieu, 

A plot to build a throne and there 
install 

Thy regal heart. 

But, dear, I love the change. I love the 
view 

Thy ways have opened, and I'll gladly 
strew 

The way with blooms that leads within 
thy hail,— 

But I'll conspire that you one day 
shall call 

A consort to the throne that's built unto 
Thy regal heart. 

39 



XLbcvc*6 mo Bscape. 

RONDEAU. 

There's no escape for me, for thine 
Are charms that all my love entwine, 
And bid it linger close to thee, 
As zephyrs do to meadow lee — 
As sighs do to the swaying pine. 

'Tis Heaven rules ; should you consign 
My love to torture, keen and fine, 

Twould linger, wounded, constantly — 
There's no escape. 

But, dear, thy wooing heart benign, 
Love-haloed, is a mercy shrine 
At which I kneel on willing knee, 
And naught can part the chain on me ; 
Not even death can break the line. 
There's no escape. 



RONDEAU. 

The night we traded rings, the chandelier 
Poured witching light within thine eyes, 
and clear 
And dear they beamed ; we both 

averred 
'Twas just for fun, and yet my heart 
was stirred 
Until I thought its tale of throbs you'd 
hear. 

We laughing stood, and thou, oh thou 

wcrt near ! 
And then I placed my ring, a souvenir 
Of all, upon thy hand ; strange things 
occurred 
The night we traded rings. 

41 



For since that time thy voice is in mine 

ear, 
And something passed that lingers 
sweetly here 
Within my soul — for oh ! the things 

it heard ! 
And, though wc dared not breathe the 
tingling word, 
'Twas hearts we gave, thine own con- 
fessed it, dear, 
The night we traded rings. 



42 



Sbc Sln<39 ot Xovc. 

RONDEAU. 

She sings of love, ah yes, and deems it 

fair 
To choose a wooing, sentimental air 
When Harry comes to call ; but oh ! 

to hear 
The sad, sad things — alas, that bring 
no tear — 
She sings for those for whom she does 
not care. 

Yea, too, and songs of war, until the 

hair 
Is like to stand, and suitors harldy dare 
To breathe; and then, oh strange! 
when Harry's near 
She sings of love. 

Perhaps 'tis chance some songs should 
bring despair, 

43 



Sbe BinQ0 of ILove, 



While cooing things reach forth and 
hearts ensnare, 
Who knows ? Mayhap 'tis subtle art, 

and dear. 
But, after all, there's only this that's 
clear. 
Though war she sings at some, when 
Harry's there 
She sings of love. 



44 



Sbe "KeaDs Ibis "fflote. 



RONDEAU. 



She reads his note and smiles, and in 

her eye 
Is twinkling light, while tints all pink 
and shy- 
Arise to warm her cheeks ; you'd 

think that he 
Had penned exceeding well if you 
could see 
Her tuck the note away and turn to fly 

Adown the curving orchard path, where 

lie 
Sweet petals dipped in pink, the maiden 
shy 
Slips quite alone, and then, all blush- 
ingly, 

She reads his note. 

The butterflies and bees and birds 
know why 



Sbe 1ReaD6 fbi6 IWote. 



Her slender hands keep wandering up 
to pry 
The portals o'er her heart. Is love 

the key 
That solves the maiden's wondrous 
mystery ? 
Who knows? The fiftieth time, with 
heartsome sigh, 
She reads his note. 



Sbe BnawcrcD lc0. 

RONDEAU. 

She answered yes, although no word 

she said 
Nor whispered shyly, but her nodded 

head 
And gleaming eyes were eloquent of 

thought 
And sweet consent, while on her lips 

was nought 
But smiling yes, that came and coyly 

fled, 

The while her hands, in his, dear an- 
swer sped 
Straight to his heart ; and then, with 
sighs instead 
Of words, to own herself as caught, 
She answered yes. 



He wins, yet now he stands with half- 
real dread 



Sbc BitBWcreD ^ee. 



To beg a kiss, to which all-trembling led 
His faltering words, and then, by- 
Cupid taught. 
Love's gentlest plea has coaxed the 
boon he sought. 
For — well — dear maid, with lips all 
blushing red, 
She. answered yes. 



mbcn JBab^ Smllca. 

RONDEAU. 

When baby smiles 'tis dainty, faint — a 

stray, 
Soft dawn of mirth to come — but elders 

say 
'Tis not a smile at all, and laugh to 

see 
The mother try to coax and woo the 

wee, 
Dim sign that may not come again all 

day. 

But then her eyes, that watch the hours 

away, 
More keenly see ; and, oh, the lovesome 
play 
That 'twixt the two goes blithsomely 
When baby smiles. 

And when at last 'tis sure the elfin fay 
Has really learned, why, then it is that 
they 

49 



Timben JBab^ Smiles. 



Who doubted most are generously 

free 
With tribute kisses, and on tireless 
knee 
The household bends, and all are 
sweetly gay, 

When baby smiles. 



60 



Mbcn JBabg 3Learns to IRlgg* 

RONDEAU. 

When baby learns to kiss and puts her 

sweet 
Dear puckered little mouth right up to 
meet 
An older one, 'tis like a bud might 

rise 
To woo the honey-seeking butterflies, 
And with the older velvet blooms com 
pete; 

'Tis like the winsome tread of fairy's 

neat 
And dainty-touching, blush-compelling 
feet 
Upon a sunny beam athwart the skies. 
When baby learns to kiss. 
And like it is to dewy touch, so fleet, 
Of dawn that flushes in her East retreat; 
For lo, 'tis softly shy and fairy size, 
And wet as lips of nectar-strewing 
skies ; 
And mamma's joy is boundless and 
complete 

When baby learns to kiss. 

61 



fllM0Ccllaneou0» 



ir Dreamco of %ovc. 

I dreamed that on a hill serenest Night 
Descended, and she gently bore away 
Her dearest sister, Twihght, in her 

arms. 
And over all the place she calmly took 
The sleeper's post to watch for coming 

dawn. 
Her million hosts of fairies lightly 

tripped 
From out the scented bushes and the 

trees ; 
Or stepped with dainty tread from many 

flowers 
Till all were come together in the grass. 
The tiny Queen, whose harshest sum- 
mons scarce 
Seemed half as loud as sleeping linnet's 

sweet 
And fluttering note within her happy 

heart. 
Was gaily answered by a thousand 
slaves 



IT DrcamcD of Xove< 



Whose only bonds were friendship's 

silken cords ; 
And these illumed their lamps and, 

skimming o'er 
The reaching, longing petals and the 

fays, 
They lighted up the wondrous grassy 

halls 
Where all could dance to crickets' cheer- 
ful tunes. 
Then came thic blushing moon, all rosy 

red. 
To peep above the fragrant elms and 

oaks 
That stood as silhouetted guards above 
The elf-lit scene. And thou wert at my 

side. 
Thy hand almost in mine, thy blushes 

warm — 
Oh so inviting to my yearning lips ; 
And sat we two— perhaps 'twas proph- 
ecy — 
Upon the steps that easy made the way 
V/ithin a little chapel-house that rose 

54 



ir DreamcD of %ovc. 



Above the lovesome earth. 

So this, the prelude first 

Was witching fair to see ; but then it 
seemed 

The inky woods outstretched their 
beck'ning arms 

And took my soul to darkness, doubt- 
fulness, 

And lured my erring heart with weirdly 
grave 

Enchantment, potent, subtle; all the 
while 

The whispering leaves and branches 
overhead 

Were plotting darksomely the moon to 
hide; 

And down below the tangled, hugging 
vines. 

With gnomish ways, tripped up my 
trembling feet. 

Thus sombre, gruesome, full of mys- 
tery. 

With strange misgivings fraught, this 
place 

55 



•ff DreamcD of Hove. 



Absorbed the whole of Faith and bred 
Despair. 

Once more the level fields, the jewelled 

grass, 
The faithful flying lamps that show the 

way 
Through all the little caverns in the 

ground — 
Wherein, though small, the blackness is 

intense 
As any in the wood; and there I prayed, 
** Oh, may v/e never have an ebon Care — 
A cavern full of gloom, of trouble, 

doubt — 
So large but that the single cheerful 

ray 
Of just one tiny, glowing, flashing fly 
May drive it far away — dispelled and 

gone — 
And in its place be Light and Faith 

and Love." 



66 



Zbc ©rgan'0 Xove. 

'Tis in the dusk, the sunlight's glow 
Falls softly, tinged with red and gold ; 
The stillness, sanctified and old, 
Is hardly touched and yet I know 
It is my love whose gentle tread 
Glides by the patches gold and red ; 
My love it is, whose glances soft. 
Precede her to my dingy loft. 

She comes — sad little heart is she 
Who brings her sighs and tears to me; 
Who brings her soul to let it free 
With inspiration's symphony ; 

To weave sublime 

Enchanting rhyme; 
To give her being up to mine ; 
To conjure melodies divine. 

She touches on my dearest notes 
And far away the sobbing floats, 
And, rising, falling, all the wails 
More tenderly than lovers' tales 
Ebb forth and, trembling on the air, 

57 



TTbe ©r^an'B %ovc. 



Plead plaintively. It is my heart 
Pulsating wildly to her there. 

She knows it, yet she does not start, 
Nor take her fingers, soft and white, 
From off my quivering keys. The 

night 
And darkness fail to dim her sight 

Or drag her soul and mine apart. 

She leans and sways and every tone 
Of mine is more and more her own, 
And hers are mine, until the theme 
Of all my loving, like a dream, 
Steals on her sense ; and now I seem 
To pour the love that s in the strain 
Into her willing ears. Her brain 
No longer rules the lofty train 
Of passion's rhyme, but it is I, 
Controlling her, who breathes the sigh 
Of love's resistless ecstasy. 

Then with a lover's mighty strength 
I fill the sanctum full of love, 

More deep, more holy, till at length 
It vibrates all — belov/, above ; 

B8 



^e ©rgan'0 Xove. 



And deeper, deeper, deeper still 
It seems the sacred place to fill 
With harmony sublime. And more 

Tremendous, lifting, pure it swells, 
As if 'twould break through every door 

And barrier to souls. It wells 
From every reed and breath, from all 
My being, and from wall to wall 
The whole vast volume crowds around 

Her form — each note a circling arm 
Embracing her — each chord and sound 

Enticing forth her soul with charm 
Hypnotic. Ah such awful power, 
In such a place, at such an hour ! 



Too great ! too much ! her little face 
Sinks forward on the keys ; the place 
Re-echoes with a lonely chord — 
The last of all that mighty horde — 
It seeks her heart, and there at rest 
Is nestled in her sleeping breast. 



Zbc niQht Skater* 

Oh! the smooth black ice, the mysterious 
black, 
And the clink of my runners of steel, 
And the boom and the crack that go 
echoing back, 
And the swiftness of wind that I feel 
As I glide like a shade 
Through the air that's afraid 
To follow behind on my track ! 

Oh! the star-lit black, the mysterious 
glass. 
The magnet that clinks on the steel, 
And the dead, frosted grass and the 
trees as I pass 
Crane forward to witness the zeal 
Of my race with the sound 
That goes booming around, 
Like the ghostly huzzas of the mass. 

Oh! the deep black ice, the mysterious 
black. 
And the clink of the steel as I go. 
And the boom and the crack that come 

echoing back 
Like the voices of gnomes down be- 
low! 
And the Future's the shade 
That's before, and dismayed 
Is the Past that's behind on my track I 



GoD'0 Sun. 

A dreary, cold, wet mom ; 

No smile in Nature's face ; 

No song ot sweet-voiced birds ; 
No happiness is born. 

Young flowers droop and die, 

Die pining for the sun 
That will not shine to-day _ 

To warm the cheerless air, 
The morning damp and gray. 

My heart is sad, and pain 

Is in its lifeless throb ; 

No love nor joy is there ; 
Its tears in silence rain. 

Its dearest hopes seem dead. 

Dead, waiting for the sun 
Companionship could bring, 

Which will not come to-day 
To ask my soul to sing. 

But ah ! God's sun will shine; 
The clouds will waste away ; 
Despair and chill depart ; 

The song and love be mine. 

Glad Summer's days and Fate's 
Will bring the flowers and birds, 

Will bring— He wills they must- 
Contentment, soulful peace, 

Complete, confiding trust. 

61 



prc*;emption. 

Say, do you hope to make your mark 
Upon her heart so soft and fair ? 

Set up your post in that sweet park, 
A warning 'gainst men treading there? 

For if you do I ought to tell 
That such a thing can never be. 

The fact is — and it's just as well — 
Her heart's already marked— for me. 



G2 



Bll Bl)OUt irt. 

All about it will I tell thee ; 

Thou hast seen 

All the sheen 
Of the lake beneath the kiss 

Of the moon ; 

Or at noon 
Thou hast seen the ardent rays of the 
sun 

Bring a blush 

And a flush 
On the ripples as they run ; 

More than this 

Thou hast won, 

Dear, from me. 

All about it will I tell thee; 

Thou hast known 

How alone 
Is the mateless nightingale ; 

How at night, 

In its plight, 

63 



Hll :about 1ft 



It has sighed its mournful note in the 
tree ; 

How the hill 

And the rill 
Echoed low in sympathy ; 

Deeper tales, 

Plaintively, 

Sigh from me. 

All about it will I tell thee ; 

Thou hast heard 

Every ^^ird, 
In its mating, sing of love ; 

Thou hast pressed 

To thy breast 
Roses wild, breathing love ere they die, 

When a bee, 

Buzzingly, 
Brings another's pollen sigh ; — 

All above 

These am I, 

Loving thee. 



64 



XLbc meDDtng IRtng, 

Blushing and flushing, a bride of a day — 
Tingling with altar-felt throbbings 

that sing 
Sweet in her bosom — entranced by the 

ray 
That dances about on her plain 

golden ring, 
Soft kisses the emblem of love ; and it 

gleams, 
And Dawn-light of sacredness warms in 

its beams. 

Smiling, a wife, half years over the 

way, 
Tingling with mother-felt throbbings 

that sing 
Sweet in her bosom — made glad by the 

ray 
That dances about on her plain, golden 

ring- 
Soft kisses the emblem of love ; and it 

seems 

65 



CTbe 11Clc&&f!i(? IRfna, 



That Noon-beams of sacredness warm 
in its gleams. 

Sighing, a grandmother. Time-kissed 

and gray — 
Tingling with mem'ry-felt throbbings 

that sing 
Faintly but sweetly — is warmed by the 

ray 
That sparkles undimmed on her worn 

golden ring, 
And kisses the emblem of love; and it 

beams. 
And Sunset of sacredness glows in its 

gleams. 

Oh wholesome, finger-clasping band of 
guardian gold, 
All unadorned, thine atoms, virgin 
pure, 
Time-burnished, gleam with warmth 
that grows not old 
And teach the way that loving should 
endure ! 



Bn Ol^ax ntscmox^ Came. 

The warm and ruddy glow, 

Where the coals were burning low 

In the grate, 
Was cheerful, warming, kind 
To my lone and bach'lor mind 

Grown sedate, 
So I sat ; and then it seemed — 
Or perhaps I may have dreamed — 

'Twas the bloom 
And the tint a fairy fay 
Brought to scatter dark away 

From the room. 

An olden mem'ry then 
Came within my soul again, 

Where it stayed ; 
For there climbed upon my chair 
A youngster bright and fair, 

And we played. 
I could feel her chubby form 
Cuddling, confident and warm, 

To my breast. 
And I felt the pleasure race 
To my cheek, whereon her face 

Gently pressed. 

67 



l\n ©lOcn fllbcmor^ Game. 



Then she said she'd like to *'yide 
On a horsey," so we tried 

On the rug ; 
For I got upon my knees 
And my hands, and quite at ease — 

With a hug — 
She clung astride my back, 
And with such a winsome whack 

Said *'Go 'long." 
Oh, we romped an hour away 
And her laughter was a gay, 

Chuckling song. 

And the joy her ** horsey " felt, 
As he pranced around and knelt 

At commands, 
Was innocent and deep 
And he longed his lips to keep 

On her hand. 
" Baby seepy," then she said, 
And she nestled close her head 

To my chin. 
Where I held her close, the while 
My heart with boundless smile 

Beat within. 

Then the lashes of her eyes 
Drew the portals close with ties 
Soft as silk, 



68 



%n ©IDen ^emorv? Came. 



While a smile cnme in to float 
All above her dainty throat 

White as milk. 
Oh! I couldn't help but kiss 
Her petal cheek, but this 

Broke the charm, 
For I felt her strangely fade 
Like an evanescent shade 

From my arm ; 

Then I — well — perhaps, awoke, 
And its likely that I spoke 

To the air, 
For my arms felt oddly light 
And empty ; But the night 

Didn't care. 
It had taken back the kind 
Cheerful things and left my mind 

More sedate — 
Taken, too, the ruddy glow. 
Leaving ashes cold as snow 

On the grate. 



^be JBacbclor Song. 

Heigho, heigho — a bachelor song ? 

Why, yes, I'll sing one, gay and filled 
With all the fun we have, and long 
'Twill never be. Let's see; we're 

thrilled 
With daily joys of being free 
From household cares and nursery, 

And wives — hold on ; I've seen a few 

Dear souls who really ought to do 

As helpful mates — and youngsters, 
too. 
Why bless you, there is nothing quite 
So sure to dim my hardened sight 

As just to have some little child 
Climb trustfully upon my knee 

And pat my face and look with mild 
Confiding eyes on lonely me — 

Some lucky daddy's tot ; and when 
I leave his cheerful hearth and go 

And sit within my bachelor den, 
'Tis then I sing the song — heigho ! 



70 



XLbc /Ren Mbo Xivc Blone^ 

Ho, ho, ha, ha, the jolly men 

Who live alone — why yes 

We have our homes, that is, I guess 
The rest adopt a den 
That's like to mine, and have a place — 

Up high sometimes, you know — 
But that's a splendid thing to brace 

A fellow up who's slow 
At climbing; and they're not too small 

Nor yet too large. Now mine 
Is snug and warm, except when all 

The oil's burned out, and fine. 
But, say, my view across the street 

Is — well — disturbing ; — nay, 
Not quite so bad, because it's sweet 

And good, but every day, 
Or evening, I can look across. 

Through windows clear and bright, 
And see a father romp and toss 

His youngsters in the light 
That glows from out his fire, and see 

His wife look smiling on 
And kiss the babies lovingly, 

Until — the picture's gone. 
They pull the curtain down and then 

I'm cheerful as a stone. 
And laugh, ha ha, the jolly men 

Who live in ''rooms," alone. 



B 3Sacbelor ZToast* 

How now, a toast, from bachelor lips 
To please the bride who sweetly slips 

The golden Hymen kiss upon 
Her tingling finger ? Be it so ; 
May garland words all smoothly flow 
To weave a blessing of to use 

To crown her with, for lo, 'tis won 
This lovesome day. Then in a glass 

Of clearest water, bright and pure, 
I'll pledge her happiness, nor pass 

The words in wine, for springs endure 
When grapes are dry of joy. I toast 
Whatever joy is innermost 
Within her leart — the joy that she 
In secret keeps full sacredly 
For husband eyes. And may its shrine 

Be petal-hid by blooms of love 
That thrive anear a heart and twine 

Like gentlest arms, around, above 
And all about. And always may 
The melody that throbs to-day — 
The heart duet — that, blended fair, 

73 



B JSacbcIoc ZoaeU 



Goes forth, one song, upon the air — 
Ring crystal clear; and be it told 
Till all the sands of Time are old ! 

O altar stars celestial ! bless 
The rightness and the wholesomeness 
Of wed-locked pairs ! make joy divine 
Within their souls, as once in mine 
I thought to have — for lo, 'tis good 
To save a man from bachelorhood ! 



73 



With a cute little trot 

Went a brown little tot, 
O'er bubbling and crowing with glee, 

And up to her throat 

Came a wee furry coat, 
And hugging her tight as could be. 

In her pink little hand 

Was a finger, and tanned 
Quite dark— or at least, so I thought— 

But 'twas papa's, and so 

She just clasped it as though 
Great fingers too rarely are caught. 

And I lingered and walked 
On behind as they talked 

And laughed ; and I envied the coat— 
The brown one so snue: — 
And I envied the hug 

That it gave from her heels to her throat. 
Then I looked at my own 
Biggish hands, that have known 

So little of love's wholesome clasp, 
And behold, there are ten 
Lonesome fingers, but then 

What tot would a one of them grasp? 



XLhc (3low in tbc (3ratc, 

Oh no, we do not want the light 
To drive the shadows forth to-night, 

To battle with the wind. 
Come sit with me before the glow 
That's in the grate and watch the show 

Upon the walls defined. 
How cosy warm it seems before 
The ruddy coals that 'cross the floor 

Throw shifting, blushing beams ! 
And list the low and purring hum 
That seems to go and gently come, 

Inviting lovesome dreams. 

Upon the wall that's opposite 
Gigantic shades and fancies flit. 

Rude-penciled by the blaze; 
And maybe they are ghosts of coals, 
And maybe they are restless souls 

Of other scenes and days. 
'Twere sweet, methinks, to know the 

source 
Of those about the rocking-horse 

The baby left to-night ; 
They seem to touch it tenderly 
And almost make it move, and see. 



^be (Blow In tbc Grate, 



The tiny saddle's bright 
With soft caresses meant for him. 
J^ut mother's chair is lost in dim 

And ghostly shades that creep 
Within it, somber, still, and trace 
Her wasted form and gentle face 

In wondrous grays and deep. 
As if she sat again to smile 
On baby's frolicking, the while 

She crooned a song of peace. 

Oh mystic shades ! and can ye be 
The ghosts of household history ? 

And will ye never cease ? 
For dark are some and moving slow, 
And light are some that dance and go 

Like children gay and glad ; 
And all the changing edge about 
Is darkness, gloom, unsolven Doubt 

And things forlorn and sad. 

But no, we do not want the light 
To drive the shadows forth to-night, 

We'll turn around instead 
And look upon the coals that glow 
So hopefully and brightly throw 

Us kisses, warm and red. 



76 



ft Sball l^ot paea. 

Once, when I thought an end must 
some day be, 
That Death's all-moving scythe must 
thee bestow 
On Heaven — or cut me down — too pain- 
fully 
My heart tears bled, for, dear, I love 
thee so! 

Since then I've thought on Fate; to me 
it seems 
Our loves, like souls, are not new, 
fresh-made things 
That, born to-day, die when we go, like 
dreams — 
No, dear, our love, e'en over Death, 
hath wings ! 



77 



"Why live to have my blossoms fall 

on stones ? " 
The city sapling sighed, **and what 

atones 
For blasting heat, for brown, unlovely 

walls, 
For lack of meadow's green, for birds' 

sweet calls ? 
Ah me, ah me, it is no joy to live 
Thus, all my leaves and loveliness to give 
For naught. Oh, let me die or let me 

look 
Once more into the ripples of a brook ! " 

An older elm, whose twigs had oft shed 

tears 
Of sorrow through the winters of the 

years — 
Whose re-incarnate wail thus at its feet 
Was echoed o'er, breathed back in 

cadence sweet: 

78 



mb^SboulMTXlvc? 



" Let not thy young, unburdened limbs 

complain, 
Thou hast but tasted of the worldly pain 
Which fleeting Time doth bring with 

sad'ning truth, 
But which, thank Heav'n, is spared to 

dreaming youth. 

Live for the joy, the comfort you may be 
To tired souls — for those who love to 

see 
Thy cheerful green. Let not thy efforts 

fade 
While weary hearts are grateful for thy 

shade ; 
Though blossoms, thine, may fall on 

with'ring stone. 
Bethink we live not for ourselves alone." 
* * * * 

The Spring-time came ; lo, in the morn- 
ing sun. 
Loveliest of the trees that little one. 



79 



2lu IRevofri 

"Ah me," the tender zephyrs sigh, 
And back again they gently turn 

To bid the flowers and leaves good-bye, 
To kiss again the fading fern, 

Once more to steal some perfume sweet 

And lay it at the Summer's feet, 

Dear Summer gliding past. 

The cricket's song at close of day 

Hath lost its cheery, blithesome tone, 
And mournfully and far away 

It sounds with wood dove's plaintive 
moan; 
And loving birds are hushed and still 
That wooed the Summer from the hill, 
The Summer dying fast. 

The boisterous breezes of the Fall, 
Frost laden, sweep with rudest rush. 

Familiarly to toy with all 
The leaves, which scarlet blush 

And die for shame to think that they 

Perforce the zephyr's love betray 

To Winter's wanton boy. 



Bu IRcvoir. 



Poor withered bits of color brown, 
So bright and green on Summer's day, 

By angry Boreas now torn down, 
Are whirled in rustling clouds away ; 

And sobs the gentle early rain 

To see the gladsome Summer wane. 
The Summer full of joy. 

'Tis sad to see the Summer go, 

'Tis sad to lose of kith or friend. 
And yet, 'tis better ordered so, 

'Tis best our earthly joys should end. 
Though Summer, aye, though Love 

depart. 
They'll come again to cheer the heart — 
Sans sadness, sans alloy. 



THE END. 



